Map It Out

Coming home from a trip this week made me think of road maps, road trips and directions. How many of you know, if you don’t have a good road map (or a good GPS these days), you can get lost in a hurry, especially when going through a big city. This can be so frustrating, and depending on where you are, it can be downright dangerous! You might eventually get back on the right path, but oh, the time that can be wasted and the costs that may be paid!

There are, also, different paths that may lead you to the same destination. Some are through busy intersections and congested towns, and others are down country roads with beautiful sceneries of pasture lands and rolling hills. Finding the right one for you can make all the difference in how you feel by the end of the journey, whether you are refreshed and at peace or worn out and frazzled.

Just as you need a good road map for driving through a new city and for getting to a new destination, each of us need a good road map to make it safely through life. You can venture on your life’s journey without one, or you can even appear to be the more “flexible type” who frequently changes your source of guidance from one to another; however, a lot of valuable time can be disappear, the cost can be exorbitant and the loss, sometimes, can be irrevocable. It’s so much better to start out at the beginning with the right one.

God has given us the best “road map” we could ever find to help guide our lives. Some might try to argue that the Bible doesn’t answer every question we will have, and they might even make a list of things it doesn’t specifically talk about. I have to say, they would almost be right; however, I have found that the Word of God gives us principles for every situation, every question, and every dilemma we encounter in this life. The precise answer may not be spelled out, but the principles are crystal clear! He gave us this Word for a purpose, and that purpose is to help guide us through this life, into a deeper relationship with Him, and to our final destination with Him.

We don’t have to search hard, and we don’t have to spend a lot of money to find it. If we will simply open this book, read it and seek His guidance through it, we will find ourselves on a much better path than the one we can search out on our own!

A King’s Gift

Mephibosheth…what a name. He was crippled in both feet, too…his nurse had dropped him as a child…and his Daddy and Grandaddy had been killed in battle…and he was born to royalty, but his kingship had been taken away, because a new king had been crowned. By law, he could be killed by that new king. He just wanted to be left alone to die in his misery…but the new king had called upon him. 

I wonder what he was thinking when he got that message. I wonder what he thought of his life. What hardship he had endured. What tragedy he had survived…I don’t think he was thriving in his current life. I don’t think he was too excited about this call either. He had to receive the call…and he had to answer; after all, it was the King

If it were me, I think I might just tell that messenger, “Will you just kill me now?? I mean, really. I’m crippled. I’m broke. I have no family. I have no heritage. I have no inheritance, and now, the very one who’s taken my inheritance away from me is calling for me to come to him…probably to kill me! What more do you want from me? Can’t you just leave well enough alone?!” What a terrible lot in life. 

He followed through with the request. He went to see the king. Could you imagine his anguish as he entered the Kings’ courts? Could you imagine his resolution, probably, to just take his death sentence and be done with this sorry life he’d been handed? In your mind, can you see him??

Now, could you imagine his relief when King David told his servants to clothe him in the finest robes and seat him at his personal table for a fine dinner? That’s what happened! He was seated at the king’s table to eat of the king’s meal, and then, he was welcomed in to live at the king’s palace for the rest of his days! 

You see, before he died, his father had been best friends with this king. This king grieved over losing his best friend. This king longed to show kindness to his best friends’ household, and Mephibosheth was the only one left. 

Oh, what relief. Oh, what utter JOY!! Could you imagine the turn of events? To be given such a gift, I would be elated! To be given such grace, I would be ecstatic!! I would be overjoyed

Did you know, you and I can actually receive such a gift??

It may not be in an earthly kingdom, but it is in a heavenly one. Here on this earth, you and I are destined for a life of sin and an eternity of hell, but we have a Father in heaven who sent His Son to die for us, to forgive us our sins, and if we’ll just accept His invitation, He promises to give us an eternity of heaven!

What an incredible story…what an incredible ending…it’s a true one,* by the way…

What an incredible opportunity for you and me… How about it? Will you accept the invitation today? All you have to do is believe. 

*2 Samuel 9:1-9 
*John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Wednesday’s Ode #7

IMG_9826This week, I’d like give my ode to books. I love books, and I love to read! Books can take you to lands unknown. Books can take you to places of which you’ve never even dreamed. Books can give facts, and books can give fiction. Books are wonderful!

I guess you could probably call me a book hoarder. I have always loved books, old ones, new ones, little ones, big ones. I buy them in bookstores, online and in antique stores. I’ll even find many treasures in the Goodwill and thrift stores! These are incredibly cheap, too. I love it!! I find those I can actually sit down and read, and some I just buy for a collection. We’ve decided, when we have a “forever home,” a place where we will someday retire, we must make one room a library. My husband loves books, too; so, we have quite a growing stack.

I just love to read. Reading can take you away to distant lands; it can instill wisdom and grace to your weary soul. Getting immersed in a book can teach you new things and can sharpen your skills. It can expand your mind to imagine and dream. You can ask any teacher or scholar, reading books WILL make you smarter!

My heart’s desire has been to instill this love I have for reading and for books into the hearts of our sons. I have bought books for both of them since they were babies (actually before they were born!), and I buy them even now that they are nine and thirteen. I am grateful they have grown to have a love for books and reading as well.

Our, now thirteen year old, got the complete Sesame Street alphabet board books on his one year birthday. He sat in the floor, amidst all those toys, looking through and ‘reading’ each individual book. There were 29 in the series! He now still enjoys some reading. However, school requires quite a bit of textbook reading; so, he has a limited interest, at best. He is reading the Hunger Games series; so, at least the desire is there a little! 😉 Our nine year old loves to read about all kinds of things, but he especially loves his Action Bible, The Hobbit, the Magic Treehouse series, and How I Survived series. My husband is an avid reader. He favorites are The Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Louis L’Amour westerns and most John Grisham novels.

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My reading spans from fiction to non, self-help to leadership and mentoring, biographies and autobiographies, and so on. On my nightstand (actually within my Kindle) right now, I have two books in which I am immersed, and about twenty-five, or quite a bit more, which are waiting “in the wing.” These days, I put most of the books on my Kindle; so, I can take them wherever I go. I absolutely love that Kindle! Oh, but that ode can be given on another day!

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How about you? Do you love books? Do you love to read? What is on your bedside table right now? What are some wonderful books you have found lately? Which is your favorite?